Fr. Wayne shows off his adventurous side in Vietnam, holding a python during travels with Fr. Steve. Fr Wayne is in Vietnam helping the district set up an archives.
If you have read Fr. Steve’s posts you know that Fr. Wayne Jenkins, archivist for the US Province, has been in Vietnam during the past few weeks helping the district to set up an archives. Fr. Wayne writes about a typical Sunday in Ho Chi Minh:
This was my second Sunday in Ho Chi Minh City. For the Vietnamese SCJs and for the students, they use their motorcycles to travel to parishes and to convents for the celebration of the Eucharist and for teaching religious education. For the foreigners like myself, I can celebrate in the community house or in one of three places where foreigners may concelebrate only!
For Saturday evening, the celebration of the Eucharist is at 6:00 p.m. at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Centre. The Filipino community organizes things with the Carolus Barlomeus Sisters. The Youth Choir is wonderful! The priests are from the Philippines, Italy, Belgium, India and Canada. Our students are the altar servers and the greeters. The seating is like in the theatre. The international community in Ho Chi Minh attend.
Since this month is the celebration of the moon, the children carry paper lanterns down the stairs to the altar. I am amazed by how the mothers manage to accompany them! Everyone mingles after the liturgy to share what they had been doing during the week. It is a friendly and warm community.
For Sunday morning, the cathedral has a celebration of the Eucharist for tourists at 9:30 a.m.
In the afternoon, at 2:30 p.m., there is a celebration of the Eucharist at a Dominican monastery. Once again, the Filipino community organizes things. It is a much smaller group of people in a chapel. The youth choir is very energetic! A Filipino priest presided while Fr. Rino, SCJ, Fr. Vincent, SCJ, another Filipino priest and I concelebrated. After the liturgy, everyone was invited to have snacks in their hall. A volunteer makes a noodle dish. Coke or water is served with some bread. The noodles were very tasty! It is like coffee and doughnuts after a liturgy on Sunday in North America.
Each celebration is different. Our SCJs enjoy liturgies at the Pastoral Centre and Dominican monastery. I can understand why!
Walk with us! 